Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by FtownThrowDown:

Pours a murky light copper in color. No head forms on the pour. Smell is light fruit, mostly lemon and some kiwi. Can't quite put my finger on the flavors. Never quite experienced the flavors that I'm getting in this beer. Decent carbonation and fairly smooth in the mouthfeel. You get a hint of the alcohol in the flavor. A little heat in the back of the throat. A new experience. Not something that I'll seek out, but quite the experience.

A: Amber colored, very hazy with plenty of floaters in the liquid. 1 cm slightly off-white head that leaves minimal lacings.

S: Very fresh and somewhat tart. Plenty of honey and newly cut flowers. Hard to tell what aromas come from the hops considering all the stuff they brewed this one with, but I still think I can detect some distinct hop aromas here. Plenty of yeast with a Belgian character. Some herbs.

T: Very powerful taste of honey hits the palate. Lots of floral flavors, almost a little perfumy. Some pine-forest is noticeable, but the juniper twigs they brewed this one with is hardly detectably. Plenty of Belgian yeast. Some herbs, soft candy and caramel. All in all, its very sweet, but still rather round and soft. Quite good, actually. The finish is characterized by an almost complete lack of bitterness. Instead, here are plenty of warm and spicy alcohol, some honey residuals and bread-like malts.

M: Very good. A successful combination of a rather full body, creamy texture and plenty of carbonation. Towards the end, when the carbonation decreases, it almost feels chewy. Excellent.

D: This is a not your average kind of beer. It's definitely interesting and to a great extent quite good, so it's a rather successful experiment. It is well composed and nothing seems really out of place. However, I think I would have liked the alcohol to be somewhat less prominent, and perhaps the honey is a little too much in some sips. Also, I think it would have been nice if both the juniper twigs and sea wormwood they used in the brewing were more noticeable. But all in all, quite tasty, and most definitely interesting.

This is a slow gusher that pours a nice amber color and a blanket of off-white head rests on top. Big sediment floating around, even with a slow pour, which I'm not crazy about.

The aroma has a belgiany quality, fruity and malty, reminds me of a more complex Saxo. It has a mild anise and flowery spice, damp forest floor, and definately sweet honey and toffee. Exotic with a hint of stank, alcohol shows up more as it warms.

The taste is rather sweet too. Honey, treacle, fruity Belgian yeast, a lot of things hit in the mid-palate. I can feel the 11% more than I taste it, so for me, considering the strength, it's easy to drink. The carbonation is low, making it easy for the sweetness to create a smoothness.

This isn't an everyday beer by any means, but I'm a fan, it's thought provoking and complex.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown1pt .9oz bottle into a tulip glass. The label has some nice info which includes ingredients, abv% (11%) and bitterness (24 ibu).

Appearance: This one wanted to get out as soon as I opened the bottle. Light beige bubbles slowly rose up from the bottle as I then tried to quickly move the bottle to the glass to catch the tasty foam. After it was poured I observed a very cloudy orange/brown colored body full of yeast sediment. In the body tiny champagne like bubbles can be seen streaming up the sides of the glass. The rushed pour produced an average, two finger tall beige head. It was made up of lightly packed foam which settled quickly and left only a very thin film on top.

Smell: The aroma is full of sweet honey notes, pine needles, bready, malts and yeast as well as some mild fruity apple skin like notes.

Taste/Palate: It has a sweet honey mead like character with loads of sweet bready yeast and fruity estery notes as well. I picked up fruity notes of apple and pear mixed with notes of pine needles and a very slight touch of citrus/pine hop bitterness. The finish is still quite sweet but there is some botanical/herbal bitterness with some very mild hop bitterness for balance. Underneath all of this is a very well hidden mellow alcohol presence. On the palate it has a firm smooth texture with soft yet active carbonation.

Style No. 100 on Beer Advocate. Only English Pale Mild, Happoshu and Gose to go.

The beer pours a hazy yellow-orange color with a white head. The aroma is odd, but not bad. I get notes of honey, flowers and perfume. The flavor is more of the same with a lot of honey in the beer. The flowery and spice notes in the aroma and flavor are probably from the juniper, but I am not too familiar with the plant so I cannot be sure. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Not sure how this compares to other Sahtis, but I enjoyed this one.

Nose is very fresh and earthy at the same time, the honey stands out as does a bit of alcohol, bready yeast and juniper.

The flavors are nicely balanced with sweet honey, light bittering and an alcohol warming sensation that would entice anyone on a cold winter night in the Scandinavian darkness. This beer reminds me of some quadrupel Belgian ales and would easily stand up against the great traditional ones such as a Rochefort 10.

The finish is long and satisfying, changing slightly from sweet honey to ripe red apple cider towards the end.

Very drinkable considering the herbal components but at 11% you'd be wise to watch the pace or things could get out of control before you could say "I'm Sahti..."

A: Hazy orange with a pure white head. Excellent retention and moderate lacing. plenty of bubble racing up the side of my tulip.

S: Very yeasty. Leans strongly toward Belgium in the nose. Picking up hints of sweet honey and fruit.

T: Sweet and yeasty on the palate. The fruity flavors come through on the tongue, and the 11% ABV burn is evident in the follow through. Lingering aftertaste of yeast and alcohol.

M: Medium bodied with good carbonation.

D: The flavors are so pronounced that I can't see this being something that I would come back to more than once in awhile. It is pleasent, but not subtle at all. I could see cloyingness being an issue for some.

Sahti is light copper in color. It's mostly clear. Backlighting gives it a slight scarlet look. A fluffy, off-white colored head tops it off. It stands roughly two fingers tall and recedes much more slowly than anticipated. Lacing was relatively sticky, but moderate in volume. Not bad at all.

The nose is pretty good, but is underpowered. Sweet honey is particularly notable and resonates throughout. There are some light spicy notes. I suspect juniper berries might be responsible. I've only encountered this style two, maybe three, times and haven't got a great grasp of their impact. I can't say that they are distinct by any means. It is a little malty and sweet smelling. It definitely has an earthy/floral vibe to it. Alcohol is blended extremely well for an 11% beer. It's barely noticeable. Not bad, but could use more muscle.

The flavor is good, but isn't special by any stretch. It has a strong honey flavor that's very sweet and pervasive. It's by far the strongest flavor present and may mute some of its other characteristics. It is earthy and floral. Perhaps a little spicy. I'm guessing juniper berries are responsible for the flavor, but I still don't have a good grip on the style. It's just too rare. It does have a nice malty base. It's sweet, but not exactly sugary. I am impressed by the alcohol management. I would never guess that this is an 11% beer. Maybe 8%. It has a very subtle flavor and isn't warm or hot at all. It finishes a little sweet with an herbal twist.

Sahti has a full body that's incredibly smooth. I'm stunned by how good the feel is. It's easily the beer's strong point. Talk about lush and smooth. Wow! The mouthfeel here is truly exceptional. Drinkability is good. I like the flavor, but don't love it. It's good, but this 500 ml bottle is plenty. My experience with the style has been good thus far, but it's not exactly my favorite.

Nøgne Ø and Dugges Ale did a nice job with a style that continues to intrigue me. I'd say it's a good representation of the style, but I'm still not sufficiently familiar with it. Nonetheless, this is good beer. The nose could use more strength, but that's about the only constructive comment I have. I enjoyed the beer and am surprised that it is 11% abv. It doesn't seem anywhere near that strong. If you haven't experienced Sahti (the style), this is a fine place to start. Easily recommended.

Pours a hazy honey brown color with a dense khaki colored head that settled a chunky sparse cap. The aroma is herbal and floral; honey malt with lavendar, talc, banana, grass and hints of lemon. Quite unique. The taste starts off quite herbal; talcum powder, basil, rye, light juniper and transfers into a more floral/fruity flavor; banana, lavendar/wild flowers, apples and lemon. All of this is wrapped up with a raw honey sweetness. The feel is quite thick but is heavily carbonated so it drinks fine; sweet overall, a touch sticky. A very unique brew. I appreciate the herbal/floral characteristics, quite flavorful. The brew is a tad thick and sticky. Not sure but I figure the herbal/floral character, while tasty, could become cloying, though I think 12ozs are safe. ABV is well hidden.

Pours a cloudy golden color with a large, and growing off-white head that had excellant retention. The head eventually settles to a thick cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left on the glass.

The aroma is completely different from any beer I have consumed before. Very aromatic with spices. I had to look sea wormwood up and I guess it is very aromatic but no specific description. Almost smells like jasmine or other astrigent plants. Herbal and floral is a generalized descriptor. I do not pick up on any juniper which I would think should be mandatory in a Sahti.

Has an astringent flavor. The tannins have taken over. A bit gin like in flavor but I honestly cannot pick out the juniper. Has the more distilled flavor of gin. This is just a hint of sweetness right before the finish but dies instantly when the ethel alcohol takes over. There are hints of fruity esters but it is very weak. Interesting flavor but being my first Sahti I cannot say how true to style this is.

I understand Sahti's are thick and chewy in body. This one is not. Medium body but the carbonation is spot on for the size of body. Nice soft texture.

An interesting beer for sure. This one got me to expand my review wordage by a large margin so something is going on here. True to style- I am believing it is not. The big ABV and almost $10 bottle lowers drinkability.

Appearance: Opaque light orange brew. It has more head that I imagined this style of Beer should have. For some reason I had the preconception that Sahti was flatter than this. That's why we drink 'em!

Smell: Pronounced honey aroma, not unsimilar to Polish meads like Jadwiga (spelling?). The honey seems to come from a very floral source. This isn't clover honey for sure.

Taste: With a smell like that, you'd think this Beer would be cloying as hell. Not at all, at least not to the level I expected. The rye is what really comes on strong and gives flavors of baked goods. Especially when the flowery come play around your tongue, it's like a slice of some kind of east european dessert bread. For such a rich and complex brew, I was astonished by how well it drank. But what really floored us was the 11% ABV. Very interesting Beer from a brewery that seldom dissapoints.

A: Poured a burnt honey-orange with a frothy 1 finger dull white head that was moderately lasting at best leaving a patchy covering. There was a slight haziness as well a steady strong showering of carbonation, composed of micro bubbles that rose at a rapid rate. Overall a good coloring and haziness making for a generally good appearance.

S: The nose opened up with some herbal scents of pine cones and wildflowers. There was a musky scent of wet leaves as well. The juniper twigs contributed an earthy dry feel of twigs and fresh bark. There was however a noticeable odd aroma of vinyl/plastic that was unpleasant. Soggy citrus notes of orange peels with a damp,musty nature rounds things out here with mixed feelings.

T: The flavor starts off with strong notes of sweet honey with musky damp oranges and a slightly acidic nature. The juniper berries come in tasting almost like tart blueberries. There was pine cones, and a herbal spiciness of sage and basil coming through midway through the palate. There was as well a good deal of yeastiness, sour dough as well a light underlying smokiness of kindling. The beer finishes up with a dried honey sweetness and a dry almost gin like warming. This is only my second sahti style beer, the other being dogfishhead's Sah'tea. Overall I feel this is more true per style then DFH with an old world feel, but I enjoyed the DFH more.

M: slick with a light watery honey consistency. Not much else was going on here.

D: Drinkability was average, but guessing decent per style. The taste is quite odd but does get more manageable as the drink progresses, but still comes with a little fight going down. Honestly this is quite an odd style of beer that was intriguing but may be a little much to consume at one time both volume and alcohol wise 11%. I would recommend splitting with a friend and you might enjoy the experience a bit more.

Pours murky dark amber/brown with a large whit head.Nose show masses of really floral honey, distinct spicy juniper and sweet caramel malt. No hint of the alcohol so far. Pretty awesome, but a bit full on with the honey.The flavours really hit hard, with loads of sweet malt, honey, alcohol and herbal astringency. Nice, interesting, but a bit boozy.Creamy carbonation, but could be higher to help cut through the sweetness.

500 ml bottle brought to a very eclectic tasting at inflatablehair's house... Thanks for hosting Sam... Ditmier (I think put this into the mix).... If I'm wrong, somebody let me know right away.

A very muddy orange poured into my small La Trappe glass..

I was befuddled for a long time with this one.. Molly mentioned to Eric that she smelled honey, and things sorta came full circle for this one.

The nose has a ton of honey essence.. juniper ... I love lavender.. but I think I'm making it up.. sorta smells like a hospital... not bad.. just what I thought.

Out of the gate... this reminds me of an herbal tea with a bunch of honey.. a weird grassy medicinal quality that I'm having a problem with.. not a "real" problem... just a "how do I describe this" problem.. phenolic notes that could actually be the herbs in the brew....

Good body and sooo much more interesting than the DFH... Damn glad I got to try this one.. Thanks Eric, I could see how this bottle would be addictive.... I want to taste it again soon just so I can experience the weirdness of it .. but just too sweet for me overall.

Edit: Jesus... seriously... 11%... I never.... NEVER would have guessed.... I was thinking 7-8... wow.. I'm impressed.

Pours out a cloudy light amber with three fingers of white fluffy suds .Some lacing.Smell is belgian yeast and spices. Nutmeg and corriander and bready goodness.Taste is bready for sure. A very little sour hint up front with the mellow sweet following. Then the alcohol burn. This is def. 11%. Great Belgian taste here and the burn warms all the way down.Mouthfeel is a little sticky from all the sugar and that dries out quickly and makes you crave another drink.If it weren't so high in ABV this would be a great session brew.

I have been a big fan of the style ever since the first one I tried and this again was no exception. Served chilled and poured into my terrapin snifter, this one was consumed on 10/03/2009.

Very nice our here, rich honey colored amber and nice and cloudy with a light touch of white head sitting up on the top. Subtle lacing leans back against the side of the glass and really keeps the profile nice and alive looking. Aroma is sweet, lots of honey here with really nice touches of herbal and flavor notes dancing around in the background. Smooth, even flavor here with it being over 11% is actually quite shocking as none of it really was that noticeable at all. Lots of sweet honey flavors again all over the one and the profile were done quite well. A bit of a biggie, especially given the ABV, but again a very solid representation of the style.

Overall I thought this one was very nicely done. Rich and smooth with a really well done profile. I really enjoyed nearly every sip of it and think the juniper and berries added in the mix really rounded out the flavor quite nicely, I would have no issue at all with trying this one again.